This invention relates to an apparatus for sport fishing and particularly, to a breakaway clip adapted to be installed between a fishing lure and an associated hook which prevents loss of the lure when the hook becomes snagged.
Sport fishermen have long been plagued with the frequent occurrence of losing fishing lures when the hook becomes entangled with underwater objects. Normally, when such entanglement occurs, the fisherman cuts the fishing line or tries to pull it free until the fishing line fails resulting in a loss of the lure. The potential for such loss necessitates that the angler must bring a number of lures with him during a fishing outing. Moreover, loss of lures translates into a loss of a considerable sum of money over the course of a fishing season.
Numerous approaches toward avoiding the loss of lures due to hook snagging have been previously proposed. These devices generally attempted to provide a means for releasing the fishing lure from the hook and are attached to the hook and lure and release once a predetermined level of tension force is applied. This level of force is chosen somewhat less than the breaking tensile strength of the fishing line being used, thereby permitting the lure to be recovered while losing only a relatively inexpensive fishing hook. In one such device described by U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,958, issued to Cote, a ball-and-socket arrangement is used for such a releasable coupling. This device is, however, relatively complex and expensive to manufacture. It is also believed that this device would not provide repeatable and accurate release levels. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,541,720, issued to Buffet, a circular ring is employed to provide a releasable coupling between lure and hook. This device, however, requires specially manufactured hooks and lures in that these associated components must be configured such that the ring can be installed. Without using a specially designed hook and lure, the Buffet coupling may be installed therebetween using lengths of fishing line attaching the components. This approach, however, would be time consuming and difficult to accomplish. U.S. Pat. No. 1,768,468 issued to Fibler discloses yet another releasable coupling which employs a roughly figure eight shaped component having one releasing split portion. This invention includes the drawbacks of the previously mentioned Buffet reference in that specially manufactured hooks or lures are needed for a hook-to-lure attachment or the unit must be otherwise connected to them by a separate length of line. The Kibler structure is also complex and relatively expensive to manufacture. According to U.S. Pat. No. 1,974,381, issued to Swanson, a releasable coupling is provided for a sinker which is dragged along the water bottom during fishing. This releasable coupling is made from formed wire. This device, however, would not provide an accurate and repeatable release level since the free end of the wire must be deformed significantly in order to install the sinker and redeformed to its original position. Such deformation changes the shape of the wire coupling and hence its release level. A number of other prior art patents teach complicated mechanical release systems which generally employ a coil spring to sense the level of tension exerted on the hook. These devices are, however, considerably costly and therefore not suitable for everyday use by fishermen.
In view of the above, it is a principal object of this invention to provide a breakaway coupling between a fishing lure and hook which fails at a predetermined load level enabling the lure to be pulled from the hook in the event that the hook becomes snagged. It is a further object to provide such a breakaway coupling which is very inexpensive to manufacture and use. It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple tool apparatus which may be used to manufacture a breakaway coupling.
The principal objects of this invention are provided by a breakaway clip made from a piece of wire which is formed to have a generally straight center section with a pair of loops extending from the center section which are formed to have end portions which touch or nearly touch the center section. The loop portions terminate in curled ends which facilitate attachment of the clip to the associated tackle components. The clip may be inserted between the fishing lure and associated hook and can be installed on existing fishing lures and hooks. The clip according to this invention enables easily adjusted release tension levels by changing the wire diameter of the stock from which the clip is made.
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from the subsequent description of the preferred embodiments and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.